Chasing the light

[Kobus Myburgh]

Dat so ou oversized double cab trokkie nou soveel aandag kan trek.  Julle is ook niks gewoond nie. 

That trokkie is super impressive.  Even Hardy has to bite his lip to contain his smile when driving it.

I had the privilege of driving it for a small distance and it is extremely difficult to not look like an over excited schoolboy.  When passing someone you try and look as nonchalant as possible, a slight nod of the head or lifting a finger off the steering wheel in acknowledgment of the greeting passerby.  Because, like Jack Parrow sings, niemand is cooler as ekke.

Knowing how fond Hardy is of his little trokkie, I gave him a little present afterwards.




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[Kobus Myburgh]

For the sake of BikerJan, the only one here for the bikes, let’s continue our journey.

The journey from Grunau to Windhoek was by now pretty much routine for the team.

We left Grunau early as we had a long journey for the day with many fuel stops.  Towns are far apart and we would need to fill up in Keetmanshoop, Mariental, Rehoboth and again in Windhoek.  Although the Specialised Adventures fleet has long range tanks fitted to all their vehicles, the hired Hino had the shortest range due to it’s brick like aerodynamic characteristics.

Pictures were few to non existent of our journey to Windhoek, although banter, debates and laughs were plenty.

It’s probably appropriate to say that we had two more trips after this one to support further filming.  More on that much later, but I’ll steal some of those images for visual aid of our route.


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[Kobus Myburgh]

Grunau chalets, a regular overnight stop for the Specialised Adventure team.







Namibia is a place of sunsets and sunrises.  Myself and Oubones captured this one on our second visit there.



Leaving Grunau the following morning.





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[WNaude]

Jislaaik Kobus.
Dit lyk na n belewenis van n trip die.

[BikerJan]

For the sake of BikerJan, the only one here for the bikes, let’s continue our journey.

Thanks Kobus! You will not believe how jealous I am at the moment!!

[Noneking]

For the sake of BikerJan, the only one here for the bikes, let’s continue our journey.

Thanks Kobus! You will not believe how jealous I am at the moment!!

To be fair..... you’ve not showed us any bikes yet so you’ll have to excuse our gazes wandering to the Unimog.....

[P.K.]

Kobus you are surprisingly articulate and eloquent.......for a boertjie.

Nice report so far mate.

[Kobus Myburgh]

For the sake of BikerJan, the only one here for the bikes, let’s continue our journey.

Thanks Kobus! You will not believe how jealous I am at the moment!!

To be fair..... you’ve not showed us any bikes yet so you’ll have to excuse our gazes wandering to the Unimog.....

That is true Noneking. 

Here’s a picture of a bike.




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[Kobus Myburgh]

There’s a monument about 50km before Mariental for the Commonwealth War graves that we passed and I made a mental note of one day stopping there to understand what it’s all about.

After meeting Hardy and the Specialised Adventures team back in 2017, it reignited the spirit of adventure, curiosity and knowledge about the surrounding environment that was slowly diminishing within me in the corporate world.  Ever since, things like this monument intrigue me and I’ll only be satisfied once I know what it’s all about. 

The same goes for a little ghost town by the name of Bowesdorp just the other side of Kammieskroon.  Kamanya told us about the little town when we passed there during last year’s Quest and I was intrigued by the history.  So much so that I read up on it (I mean you can’t just believe what Kamanya tells you) and vowed to visit it one day.  More on that a bit later as well.

As you can see below, there’s not too many adjectives to describe the road to Windhoek.



What I can say is that it’s currently extremely dry in these parts of Namibia and the farmers there are in dire need of some form of relief.


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[Kobus Myburgh]

We arrived in Windhoek all safe and sound and booked into the Safari Hotel and Conference Centre.

The majority of the BO (Band Originale) team was already there.

It wasn’t long after supper that we retired to bed, having had a long day behind the wheel.

The next morning our team split up again.  Mark and Oubones left for Spitzkoppe in the Iveco to meet up with the full filming crew.  All equipment had to be unpacked and checked prior to our arrival, when filming would commence.

Gené, Chantal and Gary was responsible for all the food supplies and general grocery shopping.  I must add that I’ve had the privilege to accompany Gené previously on one of these shopping expeditions and it’s certainly not your ordinary once a month painful excursion with your wife. 

You don’t walk or stroll down the isle, you run.  With a precisely calculated list of necessities you receive orders on the fly.
42 Apples
10 boxes of tomatoes, no not those, cocktail tomatoes.
This, that and the rest.
Not one more, not one less. 
Serious mathematics went into the list not to come short, neither to waste.
No smiles, no jokes, business face on. 
Poetry in motion I tell you.

Hardy, Kamanya and myself was responsible for checking all the vehicles and making sure the loads are still secure. 

Time flew by and before we knew it, it was time for Kamanya to leave for his flight back to Cape Town.  His contribution to this adventure sadly came to an end here and we were happy sad to see him go.


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[Kobus Myburgh]

Kamanya’s unfortunate departure also meant the imminent arrival of the three appointed riders, or pilots as the French call them.

During the finalisation of the event, Honda requested Hardy to assist with a local backup rider.  Jean-Michel Bayle was originally identified as the principal rider during the shoot.

When Jean-Michel was however committed to other obligations within the Honda fraternity, Honda again approached Hardy to arrange 3 riders in total.  The story line of the film/advertisement evolved to include action, stationery and lifestyle filming/photographs.  This would require three riders.

Criteria was very specific:
The ability to ride a motorcycle well.
Not too shabby looking, you’re in front of a camera after all.
Good personality.
Etc.

Not perturbed by this request, we immediately started looking for someone that could drive the Unimog and one for the Cruiser, while we would fulfill the additional requirement.  I mean, they’ve just described us so well in their request and we lost interest after criteria #3.

Huge was our disappointment when we were told that both of us were too long.

We were also too tall......

We took up our search again and browsed the Wilddog site for days on end, reading every ride report to try and identify such candidate. 

Our last resort was reading the R&P section, but found that the majority of the participants there failed in the personality department.  The most active, and eligible candidates there, unfortunately also don’t really ride a bike.   

We eventually found guys that we’ve worked with before and we knew they met at least one of the required criteria. 

Soon after Kamanya’s departure, the three musketeers rolled in ................. 


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[Noneking]

[Takashi]

Great report as always Kobus.

Keep it coming.

And thanks for obliterating my dream of becoming a promotional motorbike rider, if you two short arses are too tall what chance do I have?

[Hardy de Kock]

Finding the right people to work with, on a job like this is no easy task. It just never is.
To break it down into everyone understanding the importance is also not that easy, but let's try:

Honda Japan mandates HME (Honda Motor Europe) to create the film production for a new bike that is being launched later
 
HME mandates Specialised Adventures to assemble a team consisting of logistical experts, and the models (pilots) for the film and camera content.

HME appoints a french camera crew to work with Specialised Adventures, with objectives and deadlines stippulated in our contracts.

Specialised Adventures has to make sure that the bikes that has no engine or vin nr, and definitely has no homologation approval yet, must leave Japan on time,
enter South Africa on time, leave South Africa on time, and arrive on location in Namibia on time, without being seen by anyone.
 
Specialised Adventures must employ a team that will be able to fix any technical issues on these bikes if there are any breakdowns, (remember that these are the first five bikes of that model) and we must also employ pilots that will be able to ride these bikes in such a way that would befit standards, requirements and expectations of the biggest motorcycle company in the world.

Feed and sleep a team that consists of South Africans, Brazilians, French, English, German and Swiss citizens three times a day, and see to it that the bikes are in perfect, camera ready condition 24 hours a day.

Supply all the equipment, tools etc to do the job mentioned above.

[Sheepman]

Finding the right people to work with, on a job like this is no easy task. It just never is.
To break it down into everyone understanding the importance is also not that easy, but let's try:

Honda Japan mandates HME (Honda Motor Europe) to create the film production for a new bike that is being launched later
 
HME mandates Specialised Adventures to assemble a team consisting of logistical experts, and the models (pilots) for the film and camera content.

HME appoints a frence camera crew to work with Specialised Adventures, with objectives and deadlines stippulated in our contracts.

Specialised Adventures has to make sure that the bikes that has no engine or vin nr, and definitely has no homologation approval yet, must leave Japan on time,
enter South Africa on time, leave South Africa on time, and arrive on location in Namibia on time, without being seen by anyone.
 
Specialised Adventures must employ a team that will be able to fix any technical issues on these bikes if there are any breakdowns, (remember that these are the first five bikes of that model) and we must also employ pilots that will be able to ride these bikes in such a way that would befit standards, requirements and expectations of the biggest motorcycle company in the world.

Feed and sleep a team that consists of South Africans, Brazilians, French, English, German and Swiss citizens three times a day, and see to it that the bikes are in perfect, camera ready condition 24 hours a day.

Supply all the equipment, tools etc to do the job mentioned above.

What an assignment    Almost seems impossible to pull off 

[briv]

OK my cell phone is on  You can phone me now  I am packed and ready to ride     

Lekker storie dierdie julle   

[Kobus Myburgh]

Finding the right people to work with, on a job like this is no easy task. It just never is.
To break it down into everyone understanding the importance is also not that easy, but let's try:

Honda Japan mandates HME (Honda Motor Europe) to create the film production for a new bike that is being launched later
 
HME mandates Specialised Adventures to assemble a team consisting of logistical experts, and the models (pilots) for the film and camera content.

HME appoints a frence camera crew to work with Specialised Adventures, with objectives and deadlines stippulated in our contracts.

Specialised Adventures has to make sure that the bikes that has no engine or vin nr, and definitely has no homologation approval yet, must leave Japan on time,
enter South Africa on time, leave South Africa on time, and arrive on location in Namibia on time, without being seen by anyone.
 
Specialised Adventures must employ a team that will be able to fix any technical issues on these bikes if there are any breakdowns, (remember that these are the first five bikes of that model) and we must also employ pilots that will be able to ride these bikes in such a way that would befit standards, requirements and expectations of the biggest motorcycle company in the world.

Feed and sleep a team that consists of South Africans, Brazilians, French, English, German and Swiss citizens three times a day, and see to it that the bikes are in perfect, camera ready condition 24 hours a day.

Supply all the equipment, tools etc to do the job mentioned above.

What an assignment    Almost seems impossible to pull off 

I recall a conversation I overheard between Hardy and Loic (head of the camera crew) prior to their arrival in Namibia.

Hardy got a call from Loic and for most of the conversation he just listened. I found it strange, and after the call ended I asked him if there was a problem?

Hardy: “Not at all  – I just received our briefing”
Me: “And?”
Hardy:  “They want to camp in Namibia for 12 days – without ever sharing the camp with anyone else, they do not want bad weather at any time, especially when they work or sleep. 
They also do not want mosquitoes, scorpions or snakes in any camp.
They want a three course meal, three times a day, and we need to keep in mind that they are mostly French, and used to a French diet. And yes, they have a vegan amongst them.
They need the bikes to be covered up at all times when not being filmed, and we need to make sure while it is being filmed, no one can see them.
We need to supply them with three riders (pilots), that can ride bikes on the same standard as the HRC riders that they normally work with (Barreda, Bayle, Concalves) and these riders must look like models to.”
Me:  “And?”
Hardy: “Lets smoke”



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[trevo]

Tall order, my f@k Marilize

[Kamanya]

Ja well, the stuff he wasn’t responsible for did have a kink in it.

 

My bread van had an oil leak – half a litre every 1000k’s, but more of an issue, the aircon didn’t work. So whilst all the rest were wafting along in refrigerated luxury, I had the windows down taking in the smells of the N7 and B1. It had the knock on effect that I often missed the banter over the radio’s. However somewhere between Marientaal and god knows where, the banter had run so low, that that I was prompted to deliver my first lecture over the radio on the, Various degrees of Narcissism and it’s often found co-conspirer pathology Co-dependency.

 

It was a pretty drive though.




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[Kamanya]

More Mog


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